Chapter 5 Recognition

The plane touched down with a soft lurch, and I immediately rushed to get down. At the airport, I kept chewing mints to suppress the nausea.

Our bags were cleared and all through the process, my assistant, Hugo, kept glancing at me like he was hiding a bomb in his pocket.

"Hugo,"

He swallowed, flinching at the sound of my voice. But it wasn't out of fear, and that was one of the reasons he became my assistant in the first place. Hugo never feared me.

"Don, your residence in the city, it isn't ready. The staff... uh... they need more time for preparations."

I gave him a slow look. "My residence. The one I purchased months ago."

"Yeah, that one."

"And they need... more time."

His breathing became shallow. He didn't fear me, but he also didn't want to get punished. "That's not all," he added quickly.

"What now?" I turned to face him completely.

"Leonardo Moretti reached out to me yesterday." Hugo took a step away. "He said- insisted, actually- that you stay with his family until your place is ready. He said he already cleared out a master bedroom for you."

I kept my gaze fixed on him, then laughed once- low, humorless. Leonardo Moretti, of all people.

"He sent a car for us, sir," Hugo added softly. "And... he came in person."

My amusement vanished in an instant. "He came. To the airport?"

"Yes."

That was odd, he was too eager. I was certain he was never this welcoming to all his business partners. Which meant only one thing; He was hiding something.

"I assume you accepted," I said.

Hugo nodded nervously. "It seemed like a good solution, and he said he didn't mind waiting-"

"Oh, I'm sure he didn't mind."

I stood still, my hands casually slipping into my pockets, while my mind calculated every possible reason behind Leo's actions. The chaos in Italy these last weeks weere annoying enough and now Leo, of all people, wanted me under his roof?

We walked through the VIP exit, and there he was. Leo Moretti. He leaned on the side of an expensive looking car, his arms crossed over his chest. His fitted black coat was adorned with the Moretti crest stitched delicately on the breast pocket.

His expression was smug, and behind the dark sunglasses, I was sure he still had that mighty look in his eyes. I almost shook my head in disappointment, he still looked exactly like the boy who pretended to be perfect.

He spotted us and walked up with a bright, rehearsed smile.

"Dante," he greeted. "Welcome back to Italy."

Dante? Since when were we on a first name basis?

I returned a polite nod, letting my eyes drag over him just long enough to make him uneasy. "Leonardo."

His eye twitched, but his smile never left his face. He probably didn't expect me to address him by his first name as well.

"We've prepared a room for you at my home. My father insisted. He's been eager to meet you."

An obvious lie. Mr Moretti didn't "eagerly meet" anyone. He tolerated, commanded, or eliminated. But I chose not to question him. I simply stepped into the car he opened.

When the door closed behind us, I let a smile curl at the corner of my mouth.

'Why are you so desperate to keep me close, Leo?'

We didn't head to the Moretti mansion as I was expecting, instead he drove to a private estate in the heart of Colline Nere. To think of all the places he could live, it had to be in my father's territory.

But even among the similar looking houses, Leo made sure his stood out. The atmospnere was grand, cold, suffocating beneath its own wealth.

As the car rolled to a stop at the front entrance, I noticed a small figure sitting on the front porch. A boy, probably between seven to nine, or ten. Guessing children's age had always been problematic for me.

I had no idea why, but something about that kid disrupted my entire system. He was holding a book, his deep brown eyes scanning the contents a little too intense for a child.

Leo must have noticed me staring because he smiled and called the boy over. "This is my son, Caleb." He nudged him towards me and the boy bowed his head slightly.

"Hello. I'm Caleb."

My jaw tightened as I stared at him. Caleb returned my gaze boldly. I could feel his eyes tracing the outline of my face. Not knowing how to react, my body stiffened under the delving stare until Leo spoke again.

"Go inside and help your mother."

Caleb glanced at Leo, nodded and returned his gaze to me. "Nice to meet you." He said slowly before walking into the house.

Once we got inside, the scent of herbs and simmering tomatoes drifted from the kitchen, homemade cooking. Leo proudly announced that his wife was an excellent cook and that we'd enjoy all of her meals.

I didn't need anyone to tell me that, the aroma that came from the kitchen was not only inviting, it was familiar. Very familiar.

"Lunch is ready."

That voice. I could never forget it, fragile but burning quietly.

Leo, the lucky bastard.

She walked out of the kitchen in a soft pink dress, wiping her hands on a towel. "Are you ready to-" She lifted her gaze, and they fell on me. "-eat?" the color drained from her face and she clutched the towel so hard that her knuckles turned white.

Those wide grey eyes- just as they were the last time she looked at me as a terrified sixteen-year-old girl, time did nothing to dull them. Her lips parted, but no words came out of her.

Leo didn't notice at all. "Sophia, this is Dante. He'll be staying with us for a while." He said, pulling her forward. "Dante, this is my wife."

She swallowed, her eyes never leaving mine. "Welcome," she whispered with trembling voice.

Leo placed a hand on her back- a gesture he probably thought looked affectionate. "Set the table, I'm sure our guest must be hungry from his trip. Okay?"

She nodded and immediately withdrew from his touch. Interesting.

She recognized me, that was certain. But why was she panicking so much? Her long lashes fluttered everytime she blinked. She looked like she wanted to hide away from my gaze but at the same time she couldn't bear to look away.

I held her gaze a second longer than appropriate.

Long enough to confirm that she knew who I was.

Leo, completely oblivious, walked ahead, talking about the master bedroom and how much privacy I would have.

Sophia stepped aside quietly, letting us pass. But as I walked by, I felt her gaze follow me all the way to the top of the stairs.

When she thought I was out of earshot, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. "No."